Loss of Memory
by Thunderstorm101
Summary: On the way home from school one day, some thug hit Ryou on the head with a brick and gave him amnesia! Can Bakura track down the man who hired this goon? ON HAITUS
1. Chapter 1

(A/N) Yeah, I know, I should be doing more productive things, not starting new fics, but I want to! And I've got writer's block, on, like, EVERYTHING!

Well, everything except for Triple Thirteen, but that's because it's hard to get writer's block when you're co-authoring with someone. But if that someone doesn't want to talk to anyone civilly, then that's a kind of Writer's Block. So, yeah, this is probably going to get my full attention, at least until I can actually get something else going. But trust me, this will likely stay low-priority, and I'm going to try to make the chapters nice and long, but no guarantees.

This is my first shot at shonen-ai, so, be nice, and if you flame for some reason, have a reason and let me know what it is. KK? K. The pairings are yamixhikari, and no, I am not going into lemony detail. The rating is for future violence, all right?

The entire point of this story is for me to have fun, so, yeah.

When will you people get the message? I _do not own_ Yugioh, or anything else for that matter! STOP ASKING! I'm not doing this again!

Remember:

Bakura to Ryou

Ryou to Bakura

/Yami to Yugi/

(Yugi to Yami)

"This is normal speech"

'_This is thinking'_

_**Ryou**_

It was just an ordinary, every day kind of day. For most people, that meant that the day would be boring, and that they might just go to the arcade with their friends. For Ryou Bakura, that meant that his so-called friends would ignore him, and he would have to check for booby-traps before entering his apartment.

The white-haired hikari sighed, why did _his_ normal day have to be the kind where you dodged insane dangers in a perfectly bored fashion? It just wasn't fair!

Caught up in his rare moment of self-pity, Ryou failed to notice the menacing figures following him through one of the back routs home he liked to use. Well, he didn't really like to use them, but Bakura insisted. Something about pharaohs setting up ambushes and kidnapping helpless, weakling hikaris. Sometimes that thief was just too paranoid for his own good.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of pain as one of the men hit Ryou in the head, in a clinically selected location. These were hired thugs, and it had taken ages for their employer to teach them exactly where to hit someone and exactly how hard to cause them to loose their memory…permanently. Apparently, someone has a grudge against Bakura.

_**Bakura**_

Bakura grimaced. What could possibly be taking Ryou so long? School ended hours ago, and his hikari hadn't gotten home yet. Where could the weakling possibly be? It couldn't possibly take that long to get home, even through the alleyways. He sighed, it looked like it was up to him to bring the weakling home. Or at least find out what was taking him so long. He opened the mind link enough to let them talk to each other. It could never be closed completely, but it would take a really strong emotion to make it through the way it was normally.

Weakling, where are you?

There was no response. Bakura sighed, and opened the link further, so he could find out exactly why his pathetic hikari wasn't responding. What he got was bad…Ryou was unconscious. The white-haired yami groaned and pulled out the duplicate Ring.

"Well, shit. It looks like I'll have to go and _find_ him. I'll bet the idiot tripped and hit his head on a wall or something." As he grumbled, Bakura held the duplicate of the Sennen Ring out in front of him and walked outside. "Where is the original?" he asked it. Because he'd used a rather flawed spell when he tried to get his own body, the real Ring would only work for Ryou, he just got a duplicate that vanished when Ryou took the real thing off. Besides that, the stupid spell had had a wave effect, and baka no Pharaoh got a body, too.

…_time passes…_

Bakura had been following the fake Ring for ten minutes, and had missed the start to his favorite show. Where was he? Then he tripped over something and fell flat on his face. Grumbling, he turned to look, and…_'Oh crap'_ he thought.

He'd tripped over Ryou. Who was sprawled out on the ground in a position that suggested he'd been hit over the head from behind. Growling at the thought that someone would do that to _his_ hikari, _his_ property, the pale yami picked his light counterpart up and began the journey home.

_**Ryou**_

The young man came to, and was almost immediately aware of a throbbing pain in the back of his head that made thought impossible. He opened an eye, and instantly closed it again. _'Too bright…'_ he thought. He tried to say it, but all that came out was a low moan.

Without opening his eyes, he slowly sat up, trying not to aggravate his head. He felt around, and realized that he was on a bed. To find out more, he would have to open his eyes. Joy.

Steeling himself for the brightness of the light, he slowly opened his eyes. It wasn't as bad the second time around. He was…in a room. The walls were white that explained why everything seemed so bright. He saw…a desk with a chair by it directly across from him, aside from that, the bedside table with an electric alarm clock on it and the spotless white carpet covering the floor, the room was devoid of anything aside from the bed he was in.

'_What…?'_ was the coherent thought that managed to reach his mind. Where was he, and what was he doing here?

_**Bakura**_

Bakura had thrown the mind link completely open the moment he got Ryou home. He'd taken his hikari to his room and tucked him in, on the basis that the pathetic weakling would probably feel better for waking up in a familiar place, instead of that creepy hospital. Hospitals were creepy.

He'd been watching the end of his favorite show…luckily, they'd been showing a re-run, so he hadn't missed anything, when he felt a wave of confusion and panic through the link, along with the impression that it was too bright. His weakling hikari must be awake, so he slammed the link closed and went into Ryou's room to check on him and ask what the hell happened.

When Bakura walked through the door, he got the shock of his life. Afterlife. Entire existence and then some.

Ryou was inspecting his quilt as though he had never seen it before. Which was odd, considering that he was very protective of the thing, only ever washed it by hand, and wouldn't let Bakura touch it, because his mother and grandmother had made it before he was born, just so they could give it to him.

"Ryou, what the hell happened to you?"

Ryou looked up at him, confused. "Are you talking to _me_?" he asked, completely befuddled.

"Of course I'm talking to you! Who else would I be talking to? Now, would you care to explain _exactly_ what happened, and why I found you passed out in an alleyway?"

"I…I don't know," the pale hikari admitted, "I woke up here, but I can't remember anything before that. So…is my name 'Ryou'? And who are you, anyway?"

'_Ryou has amnesia. This is a dream come true! He can't tell me what to do, how to act, what to eat, not to set the Pharaoh on fire…Oh, wait a sec, he can't cook, or clean, and I don't think he can exactly go to school…that means I'll be stuck filling in for him. This _isn't_ a good thing, after all.'_ Bakura groaned.

_**Ryou**_

The young man looked at this stranger. Apparently his name was Ryou, but who was this? _'And why does he look so happy? No, wait, now it looks like he's realized something…now he's not so happy. Maybe it's because I can't remember anything? It's not my fault I have amnesia! Or, maybe it is…I'll just have to ask.'_

"Umm…excuse me, but you still haven't told me your name," Ryou hesitantly prompted the frightening individual. He had an air about him suggesting that the only reason you weren't a stain on the carpet is that it would be too much bother at the moment.

"Eh? Oh, right. Amnesia. My name's Bakura. If I ever catch you calling me 'Baku-chan' you'll find yourself wishing we'd never met."

"Oh…" _'Great, just great. I can't remember anything, and the only person I've met is completely and totally insane. Besides, why would anyone call him _Baku-chan_ in any case? That doesn't sound very smart.'_

_**To be continued**_

(A/N) OK, that's a long first chapter. So…what's everyone think? Should I write more? Should I not write more? If you don't review, I'll probably forget this even exists.


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N) Now, I hope that everyone who read it enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope that you will enjoy this chapter as well. Also, let's please keep in mind that this fic will only be worked on when I am intensely bored and can't think of anything else to do (meaning that the internet's down and I'm supposed to be doing my homework), so don't expect updates all that often. All right?

Well, as I have said this, I believe that I can get on with the fic. Oh, yes, and possible spoilers for the AE arc. You have been warned. In fact, here's the spoiler now: Bakura had this whole works for/commands relationship going with the dark god Zorc Necrophasadu, and in this fic, Yami broke Zorc's hold on Bakura, so our favorite thief no longer obsesses over the Items and revenge. He's still not the nicest of people, though, just not totally psycho and unreasonable.

Now, I know very well that this has absolutely nothing to do with the story, but…my grandmother, the one that was in the hospital (see my other author's notes for details) died. She sorta slipped into a coma or something, and her heart gave out on the night of November 6th, 2005. So, I'm in mourning, and I don't know how long I will be, so, yeah, this story's probably going to go darker because of that.

_**Ryou**_

"Um…Bakura, I have a few questions…" Ryou began; feeling just a little bit worried. This could not be good, but if this Bakura person knew him, then he could get a feeling of what kind of person he was, what he did…what kind of culture he lived in.

"Let me guess," Bakura interrupted, "you want to know who you are, what kind of life you lead, what your friends are like, and what society expects from you."

Ryou's jaw dropped. _'How did? But…? That's not…huh?'_

"And now you're shocked that I knew exactly what you wanted to ask."

"Y-yeah," the pale amnesia victim stammered.

"In order than. You are Ryou Bakura, a fairly shy but apparently normal high school student. Your so-called friends are very polite to you, and will never turn you away, but tend to avoid _me_ like the plague, even though they destroyed the hold Zorc had on me. All society expects of you is to continue to get straight A's in all your classes. Oh, and there's a huge history test in a few days."

"Wh-_what_?" Ryou exclaimed, "a test? How can I get straight A's if I can't remember anything, anyway?"

"Heh…not to worry. You won't be going to school for a while. At least…not until we can get your memory back, or, failing that, you're ready to be able to pass the class. _I_ will go to school in your stead, hikari, and _you_ will spend that time studying to relearn what you have forgotten. I may even allow your 'friends' to show you around the city. And you _will_ learn how to cook again. There are cookbooks in the kitchen. I hope you can still _read_, at least?"

"Wait, Bakura, you're moving a little fast for me. How can you go to school instead of me? Won't people notice you're not me? And why did you call me 'hikari'?"

"Magic, Ryou. I'll use an illusion to make me look like you. Only the stupid pharaoh's pet, and maybe the lapdog or the cheerleader, or even the priest, will be able to tell me apart from you. And I have been able to fool those fools in the past, when they expected you not me. And now, all this explaining has worn my patience thin. You may ask questions later."

"Oh…all right, then."

"Also, don't leave the house. I have enemies that would just love to get their greedy, evil hands on you."

_**Bakura**_

Bakura smirked to himself as he walked down the stairs. _'He looked like a lost puppy or something, begging to be taken in and shown around…hikari is so cute when he's confused. Besides, there should be tons of things for an amnesia victim to do around the house.'_

The pale fiend grimaced, then, at the thought of what he was about to do next. But, they'd find out eventually anyway, right?

He sighed, and picked the phone up. Then he dialed the number of the last person he ever thought he'd invite into his home.

_**Yugi**_

_Ring…ring…ring…_

Yugi groaned. He'd collapsed on his bed when he got home, and now the phone was ringing. The young man heard footsteps, and the ringing stopped. He paused to listen to his grandfather.

"Hello, Turtle Game Shop," the old man greeted whoever was on the other end of the phone. Then, "Yugi! It's for you!"

"Ugh," Yugi groaned, rolling off of his bed. Great, it was for him, _'probably Jou wasn't paying attention in class and wants the homework. Or maybe Kaiba-kun wants to schedule a rematch.'_

Sighing, the King of Games took the telephone from his grandfather.

"Yes?" he said, trying not to sound as tired as he felt.

"Yugi? You sound tired…too bad, there's no way I'm calling back later."

Yugi paled, then switched places with Yami. _'Why did Bakura call me? What could he possibly want? It's a trick…it has to be! But what could the evil spirit be up to that doesn't require him to pretend to be Ryou?'_

"Tomb robber, what do you want?"

"Oh, it's the pharaoh, and he sounds suspicious, too. Keh-heh-heh…"

"Just tell me why you called, _thief_."

"Very well, all you need to do to find out is to come to Ryou's apartment. Oh, and bring your little friends with you."

"What did you do to him?" Yami growled into the phone.

"_I_ didn't do anything. In fact, I'm the one that _found_ him!"

"Wh-what?" the ancient ruler gasped, stunned. But Bakura had hung up.

Yugi took over again, and instantly dialed Anzu's cell number. This was bad. If it wasn't a trick, and something had happened to Ryou that actually had Bakura worried, well, Yugi was worried too. But he still didn't want to go into the evil spirit's lair without back up.

_**Bakura**_

The dark spirit breathed a sigh of relief once he'd hung up on the stupid pharaoh. The nitwit was sure to come, if only to find out what he was up to. The only downside was that he would almost certainly think that Bakura was up to something, and therefore would come prepared to fight.

Only one person left to call, then, if only because he didn't want to have to deal with an angry pharaoh on his own. Grinning, the thief dialed Malik's cell number.

The grin faded slightly as the phone rang…and rang…and rang…and rang…

The spirit was just about to hang up and prepare himself to face the pharaoh's little friends without help when the Tomb Keeper finally answered his phone.

"This had _better_ be good, I'm busy and pissed off!" Malik snapped into the phone.

"Good, I'm not so sure about, but if you don't get your sorry self over to my apartment as soon as humanly possible, you stupid mortal, I swear you'll find yourself wishing that you still lived in a hole in the ground in Egypt, and so had never met me! Got that, Tomb Keeper?"

"Oh, it's you, Bakura? What's the emergency?"

"His highness and his dorky friends are coming by, and I don't want to face them on my own."

"When did you suddenly turn into a coward? Besides, Ryou wouldn't let them hurt you."

"He's in no condition to stop them."

"I'll be right there. Terrorizing little kids will have to wait."

_**Ryou**_

Ryou opened the closet in the room, and was surprised to see that there were several outfits like the one he was wearing, as well as some more casual looking cloths. There were also a large number of cardboard boxes. _'That's funny. I can remember what cardboard is, but not what those boxes are for. I wonder what else I can remember?'_

When he pulled out one of the boxes and opened it, he was mildly surprised to see that it was full of papers. He glanced at one of them, it seemed to be a letter to someone named Amane…and it had his name at the bottom! Did he write these? And who was Amane? Well, he could ask Bakura, if he hadn't already left, that is.

The young man slowly walked over to the door, still holding the letter to Amane. He slowly opened the door and looked out into a hallway, which ended in a staircase.

As he walked down the stairs, he saw Bakura holding some sort of device up to his ear and alternately speaking and listening.

"His highness and his dorky friends are coming by, and I don't want to face them on my own."

'_His highness? Does that mean royalty, or is Bakura making fun of someone?'_

"He's in no condition to stop them."

'_Huh? Was he talking about me? Stop them from doing what?'_

Ryou waited until Bakura put down the thing he was talking to before he made his presence known.

"Um…Bakura?"

"What? Ryou? How long were you standing there?" Bakura growled, his hair rising up in a creepy way.

"Not long."

"What do you want, then? I'm not really in the mood to answer a hundred questions."

"Just one question."

"All right, then, just one. So what is it?"

Ryou took a deep breath, Bakura looked kind of scary standing there, his eyes glowing slightly and his hair floating about. "Who's Amane?" he finally managed to say after what seemed like an eternity.

"…why do you want to know?" the other young man asked, in a much softer tone, his eyes returning to normal and his hair falling into place. "Why do you want to know who Amane is? Did you remember her…or did you find the letters?"

"I found the letters. And I want to know who she is, and why I wrote so many letters to her and never sent them."

"She _was_ your sister. Was, not is. You wrote the letters because you never really came to grips with her death. You can't send letters to the dead, hikari. But you used to write one nearly every day, telling Amane what had happened…she was the person you told everything to, and once a year, on the anniversary of her death, you always used to burn the letters so that she could read them in the afterlife. Does that answer your question, Ryou?"

"My…my sister? Yes, it does answer it."

"Alright, then, I was just about to go and get you, anyway."

"What? Why?"

"I invited your friends over; they can help you more than I can."

"You mean my friends that avoid you like the plague?" Ryou asked wryly, but still curious. If these people didn't like Bakura, then why was he asking them to come by?

"Yes, they probably think it's a trap, and they're only coming by to beat me up and 'rescue' you. Don't ask now, it's a long story, and like I said, they can explain it better. Just keep an open mind for my side after they've gone."

"All right, I will. What should I do while we wait?"

"I think I should reacquaint you with the television."

As Bakura walked over to something, Ryou followed, bemused. _'Television? What's that?'_

(A/N) Phew! Done! I thought I'd never finish!

Heh…I know I really should be working on other stuff, but this is fun, and relaxing, and takes my mind off of other stuff.

Like Grandma June.

Or the way Mom started railing me about my homework today (and she just gave me the news about Grandma this morning!) without any thought as to how it might make me feel. Just because I don't seem terribly broken up by it (no screaming and crying, no loud sobs…) doesn't mean that I'm in any condition to be yelled at.

I was crying this morning, and maybe Mom thinks I've got it out of my system, but I really don't! I'm going to be upset over this for ages, but I always have trouble with getting my emotions out in the open. To get a better idea about what I'm going through (if you even want to, it's really depressing) you can always look me up on I'm using the same user name there as here…Thunderstorm101.

Not that you'd even really want to read my craptastic poetry. . 


End file.
